Tame Price Pressures Could Support Fed in Caution on Lifting Low Rates

WASHINGTON—Consumer prices fell in August, the first monthly decline for the inflation measure since April 2013, a reading that could lend support to some Federal Reserve policy makers who are seeking to move slowly in lifting ultra-low interest rates.

The consumer-price index, which measures how much Americans pay for everything from rent to refrigerators, fell a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in August from a month earlier, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The index was unchanged after excluding volatile food and energy categories,...